Smoke-preventer.



H. LINDSAY't W. B. JACKSON.

`SMOKE PRBVBNTBR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 4, 1911.

Patented Apr. 7, 1914 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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H. LINDSAY & W. B. JACKSON.

SMOKE PRBVENTER.

APPLIAOATION FILED AUG. 4, 1911.

Patented A1112?, 1914.

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HAMILTON LINDSAY AND' WILLIAM B. JACKSON, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

SMOKE-PREVENTER.

Specification ofiIiettei-s Patent.

Patented Apr. 7, 1914:.

Application :filed August 4, 1911. Serial No. 642,308.

To all whom t may Concern Be it known that we, HAMILTON LINDSAY and 'WILLIAM B. JACKSON, citizens of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Smc-ke-Preventers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to th-e accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to devices for promoting the proper combustion of fuel in furi naces, whereby the maximum heat value may be obtained from such fuel, and the production. of smoke prevented.

It is a well known fact that smoke is pro duced by the destructive distillation of the hydrocarbons which are `found in coal, the carbonaceous parts resulting from such distillation being unconsumed either because of a too low temperature of the combustion chamber o-f the furnace or because of an insufficient supply of air thereto. Upon the addition to the hot fuel in the furnace of a quantity of fresh fuel, .a large amount of gas is produced by the driving off of the more volatile hydro-carbons, and it is at this time that the tendency to smoke is most apparent. l

It is necessary that an added supply of air be admitted at this time to` consume this suddenly evolved gas, otherwise smoke will unavoidably be produced 4and the efficiency of the fuel impaired by reason of the escape of uncombined gases. Even if this increased air supply be admitted, smoke may still be produced but for another reason, viz: the chilling of the combustion lchamber and of the boiler plates. This is particularly liable to take place in case the fire doors be left open an unnecessarily long time, and results in the absorption of heat by the chilled sur faces with such rapidity that the temperature of the evolved gases is low-ered below the combustion point, notwithstanding the presence of sufficient air for such combustion. rl`his condition is undesirable both because of the production of smoke and the loss of unconsumed gas, and because of the eX- pense of heating useless air which has passed through the furnace and pipes without combining with the fuel. The damage to the boiler and setting by reason of such chilling is also very considerable.

It has long been observed that if a fire be maintained with great care and skill, the time of keeping the fire door open and the amount of draft being carefully adjusted according to the variety of fuel, and if that fuelbe fed frequently and in small quantit1es,`a lire can be maintained which will be substantially if not absolutely smokeless. It 1s impossible, however, to obtainfiremen having either the ability or the carefulness essential to therealization of this condition.

The object of our invention is, therefore, the provision of an automatically operating mechanical device which may be adjusted by a competent engineer to produce the most satisfactory results with any given grade of coal and will thereafter so regulate the admission of air and of steam to the fire box as to raise the newly added fuel to incandescence in the shortest possible time, while preventing the unnecessary and destructive chilling of the boiler plates and combustion chamber.

Other objects of our invention are the retarding of the complete closure of the fire doors until sufficient additional draft shall have been admitted properly to consume the first evolved gases; the 'provision of means whereby a wall o-r sheet of steam may be inj ected into the furnace in such manner as to direct the entering air to that part of the fire boX where it is most necessary` and preventing its direct passage to the boiler plates and combustion chamber where its effect would be deleterious; the provision of new, improved, and simplified means for so regulating the time and amount of opening of the doors and of the steam admission; while further objects and advantages will become apparent in the course of the following description and claims.

. Generally speaking, our invention may bc defined as consisting of the combinations of elements recited in the claims annexed hereto and illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming a part hereof,wherein:

Figure l is a front elevation of a steamboiler furnace equipped with our invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical crosssectional view taken through the furnace wall and associated parts along the broken line 2--2 of Fig. l; Figs. 2LL and 21 illustrate sectional `and end views of a twyer nozzle; Fig. 3, a

dash pot shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 6, a detail View showing the method of mounting the steam pipe and the lever for adjusting the angle of the nozzles; Fig. 7, a horizontal cross sectional View taken on the broken line 7-7 of Fig. 1 and illustrating the device by which the closing of the door is effected; andrFig. '8, a detail view illustrating a modified arrangement of the doorclosing device adapted for doors incapable of being shifted along their hinges.

Describing the parts by reference characters, 1 represents the iron front of the furnace and boiler, 2 the brick casing by which theV boiler and furnace are ordinarily sur# rounded, V3 the door for the `front of the boiler and giving admission to the tubes, 4 the ash pit doors, 5 the fuel doors, 6 the draft doors giving admission to the ashV pit,

7 the air'doors customarily mounted on the fire doors, and 8 a steam pipe leading from the boiler and provided with a stop valve 9. Referringmore particularly to Fig. 2, l0 indicates the ash pit, 1l the fire box, 12 the grate bars, and 13 the bridge wall and 14 the boiler. Forlned in the brick casing of the furnacev above the fire doors and below the boiler is a horizontal row of inwardly and downwardly inclined perforations 15, said perforations being preferably lined with sections of metallic tubing 16, and the inner end of such linings being preferably flattened in a lateral direction so as to increase the height in a vertical direction at this Vpoint for a purpose Vto be hereinafter described. Mounted upon the iron front of the furnace are brackets 18 in which is adjustably supported a horizontal steam pipe 19, one end of said steam pipe being connected to the steam supply pipe 8 by a suitable coupling such as the union 20, and said pipe 19 being provided with Ts 21 or similar side branchV connections adapted for the reception of twyer pipes 22 which project through suitable apertures 23 in the furnace front 1 and into the tubes 16. The extreme ends of the twyer are provided with nozzles or nipples 24 which are preferably of cast iron, since this material is less liable to be burned out than most metals and is also much more easily drilled out than wrought iron. Each of these nozzles or nipples preferably consists of an iron cap or plug adapted to be removably threaded to the end of the twyer pipe 22 and provided with a plurality of downwardly inclined perforations 24L spread out into a fan shape. The downward inclination of the perforations'is to cause the steam to strike the fuel well forward of the bridge wall and the spreading character of the perforations is to cause the steam to be spread out into a flat sheet in front of the doors so as to reduce the passage of air directly into the re box. The pipe 19 is also preferably provided with a `handle25 by means Vof which'it Ymay be rotated upon the brackets 18 so as to vary the angle of the twyers 22, the necessary-angular motion of the latter being permitted by the flared'portions of the tube 16 and bythe ample size of the apertures 23. The latter apertures are not designed with the view of admitting any such quantity of air as shall have a marked effect upon the combustion, but merely for the purpose of admitting sufficient cool air for the purpose of Y cooling the twyers. 'n The union 20 may be Va swiveled joint, permitting adjustment ofthe pipe 19 at all times, or it may be a common coupling which must be loosened prior to adjustment, inasmuch as adjustments of this pipe are not frequently needed.

VThe more the twyers be depressed, the more'nearly normal will be the direction of the steam to that of the entering air and the less the inspirating effect.` If the twyers and nozzles be so arranged as to bring the steam directly across the doorway it is possible toV almostl prevent the entrance of any air while their elevation will cause the amount ofV air to be increased. Changes in this adjustment are ordinarily required "only upon a change of fuel. In the furnace illustrated in Fig. 1, each of the doors 5 is provided with a pair of rearwardly extending arms 28 journaled .'95 by means of the spindles 30 to studs 29 car-, ried by the plate 1. `In the form shown in Fig. 1, each of the arms 28 lies above its corresponding stud 29, thus permitting an upward movement of the door. Upon the spindle 30 we secure a collar 31 provided with a radially extending lingerV having a roller 32 journaled thereon. To the plate 1 we also attach a fitting 33 having aV forwardly extending curved finger 34 partially'surrounding the spindle 30 and having its upperforward surface inclined as at 35. At the rear of this portion the top of themember is flatf tened as at 35a. The rotation of the spindle 30 togetherV with the doorbeing assured by suitable means, such as a set screw 36, it Vis obvious that the opening ofthe door will cause the roller 32 to ride upwardly along the incline 35 and onto the portion 35a. If

the door be swung toward closed position Y sufficiently far to bring the roller upon this incline, it will thereafter be closed automativ cally under the influence of its own weight.

In some cases, furnace doors are hinged to the front plates, as shown in Fig. 8, wherein the arms 28a are disposed between the studs 29 and the longitudinal movement of the spindle 30 thus prevented. With this construction we employ the same collar 31,V roller 32 and set screw 36 as before, and also 125 a similar fitting 33a having a forwardly ex- V tending finger 34a, but instead of securing the same rigidly to the plate 1, we mount it upon a pivot 37 and secure to its outer end a yielding depressing means, such as a spring yleo 38 or a weight (not shown). With this construction it is obvious that a relative movement between the roller 32 and finger 34a similar to that heretofore described will be attained.

It is necessary that an increased air supply be admitted above the fire for a certain time after the introduction of each portion of coal for the purpose of combining with the gases evolved therefrom, and this result is attained by means of the retarding mechanism now to be described. j

Journaled at the sides of the front plate l are bell-crank levers having upwardly extending arms 40-40 and outwardly extending arms 41 and 42 respectively. Articulated to the upper ends of the arms 40 is a substantially horizontal bar 43, of which at least the upper face is preferably squared or flattened. This rod is positioned adjacent to the lire doors 5 and has pivoted to its fiattened surface adjacent each door a templet 44, each of which is preferably made of generally triangular shape, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the pivot 45 being disposed at the apex and the other end of the plate being provided with a handle 46. At the rear of this templet the bar 43 is formed with a plurality of spaced perforations 47 adapted for the 'reception of a pin 48. The position of this pin will regulate the inclination of the front of the teinplet to the face of the front plate, as will be obvious.

Secured to each of the doors 5 is a bracket 49 having its extremity outwardly turned as at 50 and provided with a slot 51. Adjustably secured in this slot, as by means of lock screws 59.-52 is a vertical stud 53 having journaled thereon a roller 54, the height of the bracket 49 being such as to bring said roller into the same plane as the templet 44. The arm 41 of one of the bell crank levers is provided with a handle 41n whereby the bar 43 may be longitudinally shifted to move the templet 44 behind the rollers 54 and so wedge the doors into open position. It is immaterial in which direction these doors swing, inasmuch as the outward thrust upon the rollers 54 will throw them open in any event, as will be clear from Fig. l. It is likewise immaterial whether the bar 43 be mounted above or below the doors, although, for purposes of convenience and freedom from derangement it is preferable to mount it thereabove. The hinged arrangements of the templets allows them to be reversed or sprung out of the way, if, for any reason, it be desired to prevent the operation of any door, or even of all the doors.

The length of time that the doors will remain open is determined by means of the dash pot arrangement now to be described.

Secured to the arm 42 is an extension 60 and adjacent to said extension is mounted, as by means of the bracket 6l, a dash pot 62. The construction of this dash pot is illustrated" particularly in Fig. 5, and preferably comprises a cylinder 63 having therein a slidable piston 64 provided with a piston rod G5 passing through the cylinder head G6 and articulated to the extension 60 by means of a link 67. Carried by the piston is a check valve 68 adapted to permit the passage of fluid by the piston in one direction only, and connecting the two ends of the cylinder is a by-pass tube 69 provided with a valve 70 by means of which the passage therethrough can be adjusted. The

lower end of the cylinderis preferably provided with a draw-off cock 71 and the upper end with a filling and vent tube 72. This construction permits the unopposed movement of the piston in one direction, but the return of the piston will depend upon the pressure exerted, the viscosity of the fluid, and the adjustment of the valve 70.

In the present embodiment, the parts are arranged so that the opening of the lire doors by the movement of the arm 4l will be substantially unimpeded, but their rate Yof closing will depend upon the weight 73,

the length of the extension 60 and the adjustment of the dash-pot above described.

The closing movement of the dash-pot will be substantially uniform, but the closing movement of the doors may or may not be uniform, depending upon the shape of the templets 44 and by the positioning of the pin 48 along the bar and of the stud 53 along its slot. This is a matter that depends upon the peculiarities of the fuel and the furnace.

The steam inlet pipe 8 is also provided with a valve 75 provided with a handle 76 and of a type to be opened and closed by the movement of said handle through a comparatively small angle. This handle is connected to the extension G0 by means of a link 77 so that the steam will be admitted to the twyers upon each shifting of the bar 43 in a direction to open the tire doors and will not be out off until those doors are nearly or completely closed.

The operation of the device is as follows: When it becomes necessary to supply fuel to the furnace.l the fireman swings the arm 4l so as to shift the bar 43, open the firedoors a few inches, admit steam to the twyers 22, and set the dash-pot piston at the beginning of its travel. He then opens the doors separately to their full extent and replenishes the fire. The twyers interpose a cloud of steam between the fuel opening and the boiler plates, preventing the direct access of air to the boiler plate and furnace walls and causing such air as does enter to pass immediately over the surface of the hot lire, thus urging the lire and heating the air so that the boiler plates will not be chilled and so that the temperature of the gases in the combustion chamber will not be depressed below their combining point. This urging of the fire takes place for an instant before the fireman can make the necessary movements to introduce new fuel, which should preferably be done promptly, although one of the objects of our device is to minimize the evil effects of delay. As soon as the new fuel is introduced, the steam jets cause the entering air to be directed thereupon and to be thoroughly mingled with the gases evolved therefrom, the combination of these gases with the air taking place during their passing through the combustion chamber which has not been chilled, as in the usual case; as soon as may be the fireman swings the doors as nearly closed as the templets will allow, and these retard the complete closing thereof until the gases practically cease to be evolved and the re has arrived at a state of incandescence. The time necessary for this condition to be reached depends upon the quality and type of fuel, the quantities in which it is supplied, the amount of gas contained in the coal and the ease with which it is evolved, and it is necessary to set the angle of the twyers, the adjustment of the dash-pot, the angle of the templets and the position of the rollers 54 with respect thereto. Some of these adjustments may require to be varied upon a change of fuel.

The arm 42 may obviously be made in a single piece, if desired, but it is preferable to form it with an extension GO of malleable metal as shown, so that it can be bent as necessary to accommodate it to the necessities of different installations. It is also possible to employ separate opening' means for each door, if desired, the steam curtain being likewise divided, if convenient. 1t is also possible to employ any type of door closing means in connection with our device without departing from the scope of our invention, excepting as specifically limited Vin the claims hereto annexed, although we prefer the type illustrated herein because of its extreme simplicity and freedom from derangement. The herein described door closing mechanism is also advantageous in that springs are not employed in a position where the heat of the iire will serve to draw their temper; in fact, under favorable conditions, springs are entirely dispensed with. It will, therefore, be understood that, while we have necessarily described our invention in detail, we do not propose to be limited to such details, except as the same may be positively included in the claims hereto annexed or may be rendered necessary by the prior state of the art.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

l. In a. fuel burningfurnace, the combination, with a fuel admission door, of

lin different parts Yof its swing.

steam admission twyers arrangedA above said through said doorway will be directedtoward the fuel and will be prevented from passing directly into the combustion chamber and against the boiler, means for quickly bringing the door to aV partially closed position, and means for retarding the complete closing of said door so as to permit the entrance of sufficient air'to consume the gas evolved from fresh fuel. Y

2. The combination, with a furnace having a fire box and a laterally swinging fuel admission door to said fire box, of a horizontally shiftable member adjacent to said door, wedging means carried by said member, projecting means carried by saidVv door and extending into proximity to said wedging means, Vmeans forsliifting said memberl in one direction whereby said doorwill be opened, and means for retarding the return movement ofzsaid member, said VWedging means beingso shaped as to cause the rate of angular movement of said door to varyV 3. 1n a furnace, in combination, a front wall, av door hinged to said wall, means-*associated with said doo-r and tending tomaintain itin vclos'edposition and to Yreturn itV to closedV position when opened, a longitudi- Y nally sliiftable member supported by said front wall-adjacent to said door, projecting means carried by said door'and extending into proximity to said shiftable member, wedging means carried by said shiftable member and adapted to engage said projecting means for wedging said door intoV open position against the eifect of said doorclosingineans as said membereis shifted in one direction, a regulator for ret-arding the movement of said `member in the opposite direction, and means for varying theangle of said wedging means. Y

el. In afui'nace, in combination, a front wall, a door hinged to said wall, means associated with said door and Vtending to maintain it in closed position and toreturn. it to closed position when opened, Va longitudinally shiftable lmember adjacent to said door, projecting means carried by said door and extending into proximity toV said shiftable member, wedgingnieans carried by said shiftable member and. adapted to `engage said projecting means for wedging said door A into open position against the effectof said door-closing meansV` as said member is shift-edm one direction, a regulator for reopposite direction, saidwedging member Vbeing reversible whereby it may be rendered c isere tarding the movement of said member in the Y porting plate, a door hinged to said supporting plate, means for automatically returning said door into closed position after having been opened, a longitudinally shiftable member adjacent to said door, projectvand the linal closing movement thereof to be comparatively slow.

G. In a furnace, in combination, a front wall, a door hinged to said wall, means for automatically returning said door into closed position after having been opened, a longitudinally shiftable member adjacent to said door, projecting meanscarried by said door and extending into proximity to said shiftable member, a templet carried by said shiftable member and adapted to engage said projecting means to hold said door away from closed position, a dash-pot operatively connected to said shiftable member, said dash-pot being arranged to permit the unimpeded movement of said shiftable member in a direction to open said door and to retard the rate of return of said shiftable member to its original position, a-nd means for varying the angle of said templet.`

7. In a furnace, in combination, a fire box having a grate and a fuel admission door above said grate, means for automatically closing said door, twyers above said door and adapted for the admission of steam against said grate, a pipe for supplying steam to said twyers, a valve in said pipe, a reciprocable member, manually operable means for shift-ing said member in one direction, operative connections between said member and said door, whereby said door will be opened upon movement of said member in such direction, a dash-pot connected to said member for retarding the return movement thereof, and connections between said valve and said dash-pot whereby said valve will be opened when said door is open and closed when said door is closed.

8. In a furnace, in combination, a front wall, a door hinged to said wall, means associated with said door and tending to maintain it in closed position and to return it to closed position when open, a reciprocable member supported by said front wall adjacent to said door, a bracket carried by said door, projecting means adjustably mounted on said bracket and extending into proximity to said shiftable member, wedging means carried by said member and adapted to engage said projecting means for camming said door into open position against the eifeot of said door closing means as said member is shifted in one direction, a regulator for retarding the return movement of said member, and means for adjusting the angle of said wedging means with respect to said front wall.

9. In a furnace, in combination, a fire box having a laterally swinging fuel admission door, a horizontally reciprocable bar above said door and having a templet projecting therefrom parallel to the plane of motion of said door7 a bracket carried by said door and having a member adapted to Vbe engaged by said templet, a lever operatively connected to said bar and adapted to shift the same in a direction to open said door, means associated with said door independently of said templet for closing the same, and a dash-pot operatively connected to said bar and adapted to retard the return movement thereof.

10. In a furnace, in combination, a lire box having a laterally swinging fuel admission door, a bell crank lever pivoted to the front wall of said furnace at each side thereof and having a vertically extending arm and an outwardly extending arm, a horizontally reciprocable bar pivoted to the upper ends of said vertically extending arms and having a templet projecting therefrom parallel to the plane of motion of said door, a bracket carried by said door and having a member adapted to be engaged by said templet, a handle attached to the outwardly extending arm of one of said levers, whereby said bar may be shifted in a direction to open said door, means associated with said door independently of said templet for closing the same, and a dash-pot operatively connected to the outwardly extending arm of the other lever, and adapted to retard the return movement of said bar.

11. The combination of a furnace having a fire box and a hinged fuel admission door, twyers discharging into the fire box, a pipe for supplying steam to said twyers, a valve in said pipe, manually operable means for opening said doors and said valve simultaneously, whereby steam will be directed against the fuel in the fire box and a direct passage of cold air into the combustion chamber will be prevented, and a regulator adapted to close said valve and adapted to quickly swing said door to a partially closed position and thereafter slowly continue said swinging movement until the door is entirely closed.

12. The combination with a furnace having a fire box and a swinging hinged fuel admission door for said fire box, of manually operated means for opening said door,

automatic means for preventing the opera# tion ofsald closing means when the door 1s wide open, means for` swinging said dooi1 to a partially closed position and thereafter slowly continuing the swinging to complete the closing` movement, and means for 1njectingrsteam into the fire boX when the door is open, controlled by the means for swinglng the door.

13. In a furnace, a fire box having a vhinged fuel admission door, twyers adjacent said dooi` and adapted to' inject a sheet of steam against the fuel in the fire box, a steam pipe leading to said twyers, a valve in said pipe, means for opening said door and valve simultaneously, a dash pot for dethe closing movement whereby the last part .of the movement is delayed for a predetermined length of time. Y o

In testimony whereof, We hereunto aHX our signatures in the Vpresence of two witnesses. Y Y ,HAMILTON LINDSAY. WILLIAM B. JACKSON. Witnesses: Y

HAROLD E. SMITH, Y BRENNAN B. WEST.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the CommissioneroflZPatents,

Washington, D. G. Y 

